Climate Deniers Thrive at Pruitt’s EPA

Days after his confirmation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt began stacking his department with conservatives, many of them climate deniers and all of them eager to axe environmental regulations—much like President Trump himself, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

To start, there’s Ryan Jackson, former chief of staff to Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), one of the most outspoken climate deniers in Congress, infamous for bringing a snowball into the chamber to illustrate that global warming was not real. Jackson will serve as Pruitt’s chief of staff.

Then there’s Byron Brown, another Inhofe staffer, who will now be Jackson’s deputy.

Andrew Wheeler, formerly of Inhofe’s team but now a fossil fuel lobbyist, is at the top of Pruitt’s list to be deputy EPA chief, although he will require confirmation by the Senate.And two Trump campaigners, Don Benton and Douglas Ericksen, are also taking on senior positions in the agency.

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Food for Thought:

Based on 2016 IMF Report the fossil fuel industry extracted $700B (billion) in annual tax payer subsidies. They paid $117 million in campaign contributions and they have 720 lobbyists in Washington, D.C. SOURCE